<p>The 90s TV drama 'My So-Called Life'<i>&nbsp;</i><span style="font-family: inherit;">had a profound impact on </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">Nerdette </i><span style="font-family: inherit;">host Greta Johnsen. (“Jordan Catalano still holds a special place in my heart,” she said of the </span><a href="http://mysocalledlife.wikia.com/wiki/Jordan_Catalano" target="" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: inherit;">fictional Liberty High School heartthrob</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> played by Jared Leto.)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Jason Katims helped create that TV show, along with other heart-wrenching dramas like 'Parenthood' and 'Friday Night Lights.'&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now Katims is the writer and executive producer of another dramatic network TV show set in high school: '</span><i style="font-family: inherit;">Rise</i><span style="font-family: inherit;">,' which combines football, musical theater, and plenty of high school teen angst.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p>“I mean, I’m clearly stuck in my own progression in life,” Katims tells Nerdette. “I got stuck at 17 and never moved on.”</p>
<p>Katims talked with us about '<i>Rise</i>,' why so much of his writing examines adolescence, and what a busy Hollywood showrunner does to recharge. (Plus, get hyped for plenty of TV clips featuring PEAK teen angst.)</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/NerdettePodcast/~4/gHjeXETNm98" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>